Interview with Branksome Hall PARENT, Clara Mathur

It was just the feeling of walking through the school that gave me a really good assurance that this was going to be not only a good academic education for our daughter but a real safe community and a loving community that would nourish her. We had a pretty thorough process when we were choosing Branksome Hall. We really thought about what we wanted from a school. We were thinking about an inquiry-based educational program. We also liked the academic rigor of the IB Programme. We were also looking for a really pleasant campus. And so we had done a lot of research, and we had visited a number of schools in Toronto. And then we were able to get a tour of the school. 

The teachers know what they're doing. They know how to embrace a young child into the school. From the moment we first dropped her off, our daughter was fine. She was happy. She was confident. They had a number of different programs to keep the girls interested and created some big sister community outreach for the girls. And ever since then, I still have these images of her skipping down from Waldie Gates when I picked her up every day.

I think my daughter appreciates the great sense of community that the school has given her. That's her second home. The values that Branksome has, I think they really stand by them in terms of not only words, but they actually do care about the implementation and the execution of the words. And I think for me, it's about a sense of belonging, a sense of community, being open-minded, being kind, being globally minded, and inclusive.

What surprised me the most was how much she grew as an individual. Even in Junior Kindergarten, you get presented with this amazing portfolio of what your child has accomplished. And it's shocking and super impressive how much your children grow and how much they're experienced, how much they receive in terms of education, but also just opportunities for presentations, for art, for expression, even at the very youngest of ages.

I think the parents at the school all have a real desire for their children to have a really good opportunity for a great education. I see a lot of parents who are very involved and committed to the school. They show up at sporting events. They show up at conferences; they want to learn; they're at educational opportunities that are provided to the parents after school to really look at a child holistically and what they can be doing better as parents and how they can better support the school.

Our daughter is very results-oriented, so I know that she gets a lot of pleasure from doing well academically. I know last year when she finished Grade 8, she made the principal's list, and she was incredibly proud of herself and her achievements because she worked hard for that and she deserved it. 

The other thing that has been incredible for her is that she joined rowing this year, and she's the coxie for the Grade 9 class. And she's finding her voice and her leadership skills and all of her great skills that she's learned at Branksome in terms of being strong and being committed and being a good leader are all being put to test as she sits in the coxswain seat and she's doing a great job there.

I think the teachers at Branksome genuinely love to teach and they want to be there. They really do like and love their job, and that's really evident. 

The teachers are open-minded. When we have concerns or comments about how they can be better, I think they take them to heart. It's nice to know that you've got a two-way communication where they know that they're there to support our girls and they listen to the feedback and try to do the best job they can every day.

I would say the three reasons for recommending Branksome would be a very solid liberal arts foundation and education, strong academic leadership there, in terms of just good curriculum, and good reinforcement, good studying skills. And, besides the academics, they put a lot of emphasis around really good athletic programs. Everything from dance to sports is really well understood at Branksome and really well supported.

To prospective families, I think, the advice I'd give myself is just relax and trust your instincts. When you feel like you're in a good place, you are in a good place and trust the process, trust the school, and good things will happen.